Chimera

While Left 4 Dead’smultiplayer experience was more polished, I’ve always insisted that Resistance 2’s online modes held more potential. The ideas were there, it just never flourished the way I hoped.

The idea of a class-based co-op scenario intrigued me, and I liked how Insomniac Games laid it out there. Since then, other developers have capitalized on the idea. Halo: Reach incorporated into its co-op while Brink fleshes it out to its utmost building a whole game around it.

When it comes to the upcoming Resistance 3, Insomniac Games picks up where it left off in terms of the multiplayer. They lifted the class-based system in the co-op and overlayed it to the competitive multiplayer side, adding abilities and kill-streak perks to team deathmatch.

It’s hard to belive this is a PlayStation Portable game. When Sony introduced Resistance: Retribution at its media briefing, I was skeptical.

How would a PlayStation 3 title translate on a lesser-powered portable? More importantly, how would a shooter translate on a hand-held that has no second analog stick?

But when I get my hands on the game at E3, my questions were answered and fears were assuaged. Retribution, a third-person shooter, is made by Sony Bend, the team that brought Syphon Filter on the PSP. The studio is adept at third-person shooters and that works shows.

To solve the dual analog problem, Bend let players move the protagonist James Grayson the analog nub and they used the faced buttons as the look buttons. It works for the most part. To help players out, the look buttons have an autolock and Grayson automatically takes cover behind ramparts and walls.

It’s an accessible control schem that lets the PSP do most of the work while players can concentrate on the action, which is mostly firing on Chimerans and tossing grenades.